Piles of debris make firefighters' job dangerous

Milwaukee firefighters had to not only battle flames at a fire Thursday night, they had to battle the piles of debris inside the house.

Firefighters never hesitate when they enter a burning building, but Thursday night on Milwaukee's south side, they had no choice.

"When we our company made the initial attack into the building, we have a great deal of difficulty moving around and performing our operations because of the amount of personal property that was inside the structure," Milwaukee Fire Department Deputy Chief Terry Lintonen said.

Lintonen doesn't want to label what he encountered inside the home at 29th Street and Forest Home Avenue, saying everyone has free will.

WISN 12 News' Portia Young spoke with the brother of the woman who lives in the home. He said his sister does have a problem with hoarding, however he's not convinced that's what caused the fire.

The brother said the fire started in the basement, which Young confirmed with Milwaukee firefighters returning to the scene.

The sister lived there with their 86-year-old father. They made it out of the house safely.